Stealing bases?

[bjtheduck]

So far my only major complaint with this game is the way stealing bases works when actually playing a game. Approximately 60-70% of the time when I order a player to steal a base, he doesn't do a thing. "He didn't get a good break." "He started but held up." Ugh!

It doesn't seem to matter how fast the runner is or how good his stealing ability is. When I order a steal, it usually takes at least 3 pitches to get the guy to actually run.

The other baserunning commands seem to work properly, but it's very frustrating to have to tell a guy to steal 3 or 4 pitches in a row before he finally takes off, not to mention the waste of some potentially hittable pitches and not giving the batter a chance to even swing until he's got 2 strikes. If I was the runner's real life manager, you'd better believe I'd be chewing his a** off in the dugout. "If I tell you to run, you'd better d*** well run!"

Looking at the various baserunning commands, here's what I've noticed:
STEAL BASE: batter doesn't swing, runner runs <50% of the time
HIT & RUN: batter usually swings, runner always runs
RUN & HIT: batter usually swings, runner always runs
SEND FORCED: batter sometimes swings, runner always runs

This is the first baseball game I've played where runners run so rarely when ordered to steal. It seems like the command would be better described as "steal at will" or "give the green light" rather than flat-out ordering a steal. I've found myself using Send Forced or Run & Hit more often just to avoid this irritation, but of course Send Forced only works if the runner is in a position where he could be forced out in the first place.

Am I missing something and/or overreacting here?

[1998 Yankees]

Overreacting. I would be disappointed if the game did not simulate "if you get a good jump, steal the base" or "green light, go if you can." A good base stealer will wait for the right time to make his move, not go on the first pitch. That's what the game is simulating. Often, the agreement between player and manager is along these lines, not "If I tell you to run, you'd better d*** well run!" Besides, you can tell the runner to steal on a certain pitch by using the Send Forced command; that's what it's there to do.

[Leatherfut]

Yea, I was frustrated at first until I figured out the commands, but now I'm fine with it. I'm not really concerned with the names, but it seems that STEAL BASE is really "green light" and SEND FORCED is "go no matter what."
I've made a habit of checking the opposing pitcher's HOLD rating. If it's high, it's harder for your runner to get a jump. I'll usually try STEAL once and if that doesn't work, I'll do RUN & HIT. They batter doesn't swing very often, in my experience.
my two cents, hope it helps

Happy Gaming
Frank

[bjtheduck]

So as long as I read the commands as steal=green light and forced=run no matter what, I should be fine. Looks like I'll stick to Send Forced when I can. Now if only that command was available for a guy on 2nd with nobody on 1st...

As for the pitcher's hold rating, that hasn't seemed to make much of a difference. I regularly have guys with high teens in both speed and steal fail to get good jumps 2 or 3 times off a pitcher with a low single digit hold.

But maybe I'm just nit-picking. As long as Send Forced does what I want it to do, I'll be happy.

[1998 Yankees]

Originally Posted by Leatherfut

I've made a habit of checking the opposing pitcher's HOLD rating. If it's high, it's harder for your runner to get a jump.

LOL. It is amazing that I keep learning about this game as a result of responding to questions whenever I can. Here I am telling people about the difference between Steal X Base and Send Forced, and it never even dawned on me that this (in bold above) could be the reason why the runner is having trouble getting a jump.

I mean, I have seen the hold rating, of course, but I never thought about it. If I did, I believe I thought it was connected to that stat they keep on relief pitchers now, "hold" as in "did not allow any runs to score in relief but did not qualify for the save." Embarrassing.

bjtheduck, I am sure this rating is related to runners not going for the steal unless forced. Frank, thanks for one more bit of enlightenment about this game.

[Leatherfut]

Originally Posted by 1998 Yankees

bjtheduck, I am sure this rating is related to runners not going for the steal unless forced. Frank, thanks for one more bit of enlightenment about this game.

Well, I'm still pretty new to this game. I've tried to read up on everything and what I can't find an answer for I've made assumptions based on "logic" and observations of the game.
With that said, I'm pretty sure that a pitcher's HOLD rating matters for runner getting a jump. And yes, I've had instances when an elite base runner should have gotten a jump against a lousy HOLD rating and vise versa. Still, I think they do better when they are given the time to get a jump.
It's a mystery. But I generally think it works pretty well.
Except I want a first-and-third double steal option...

later,
Frank

[satchel]

Originally Posted by bjtheduck

If I was the runner's real life manager, you'd better believe I'd be chewing his a** off in the dugout. "If I tell you to run, you'd better d*** well run!"

When I played baseball, missing a coach's steal sign = bench city.